Page 18 - exoff directory sample pages

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Re-Entry Handbooks,
Workbooks, Directories,
Curricula, and Databases

I F YOU’RE INTERESTED IN DEVELOPING, acquiring, or sim-
ply surveying re-entry handbooks, workbooks, directories, and da-
tabases, you should first search for what’s available online for free
or a nominal fee rather than try to literally “reinvent the wheel” from
scratch. Indeed, during the past decade, several organizations have de-
veloped useful re-entry resources to assist ex-offenders with the re-en-
try process. Many are sponsored by the re-entry or education sections
of state departments of correction and are state-specific in terms of
re-entry details. Others have been developed by nonprofit and volunteer
groups, such as the United Way or publishers, such as Houghton Mifflin
Harcourt and Impact Publications.

While some of this information may be found with the Federal Bu-
reau of Prison’s 230 Residential Reentry Centers (halfway houses),
most will be part of pre-release programs in state prisons, which often
begin 18 months prior to an inmate’s release. The handbooks and partic-
ipant workbooks typically run 100 to 300 pages in length and are facili-
tated by re-entry specialists who help inmates develop realistic re-entry
or transition plans for life on the outside.

Standard Contents

Most of these re-entry resources cover similar ground. However, most
also are customized to respond to each state’s unique criminal laws,
court orders, sentencing guidelines, and probation procedures. A typical
handbook, for example, will have individual chapters and sections de-
voted to the following re-entry issues and activities:

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